A Happy Anniversary for Workers’ Rights

By Houston Reese

06/27/2023

Five years ago this week, the U.S. Supreme Court confirmed the First Amendment right of government workers to opt out of their unions. In Janus vs AFSCME, decided on June 27, 2018, the Court ruled that public-sector employees have the right to opt out of union representation and cannot be forced to pay union dues....

TAGS: California government unions, California public sector unions, Janus, Janus decision, Janus ruling, Janus v. AFSCME, Mark Janus

#NEAexit

By Larry Sand

07/16/2019

The yearly NEA convention was as blatantly left-wing as ever, and conservative teachers are staying put. When a bunch of teachers gather for a yearly convention, you might think that education matters would be front and center. But when the National Education Association convenes for its yearly wingding, politics is the centerpiece. And this year’s...

TAGS: Janus v. AFSCME, Koch Brothers, Larry Sand, Lily Eskelsen Garcia, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, school choice, teachers union, White Fragility

The Janus decision and teacher freedom: One year later

By Larry Sand

07/02/2019

What has happened, what hasn’t happened, and why. On June 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that government workers no longer had to pay dues to a union as a condition of employment, and the ensuing hysteria was a sight to behold. Loopy headlines like “How The Supreme Court’s Janus Decision Could Cripple Public...

TAGS: AB 119, Association of American Educators, California Policy Center, California Teachers Empowerment Network, Freedom Foundation, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Mackinac Center for Public Policy, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, teachers union

Estimated Impact of Janus on California’s Public Sector Unions So Far: $50M/year

By Edward Ring

04/24/2019

On June 27, 2018, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the case Janus vs AFSCME. An immediate consequence of this ruling was that public sector unions could no longer collect so-called “agency fees” from workers in their bargaining units who had opted out of full union membership. The other main consequence of the Janus ruling was that those...

TAGS: agency fee, collective bargaining, Edward Ring, Janus v. AFSCME, public sector unions

Disunion: Union membership in key school district fell dramatically after Janus

By Editorial Staff

01/21/2019

CLASS WAR: Teachers union activists and supporters surround Santa Ana school district candidate Angie Cano, April 2018. Cano, a school choice activist, was attempting to speak at a district board meeting. Police escorted her into the building. Union membership in California’s sixth-largest school district fell rapidly in 2018, perhaps signaling a broader statewide decline following...

TAGS: government unions, Janus v. AFSCME, teachers

The delightfully, annoyingly persistent Rebecca Friedrichs

By Larry Sand

11/20/2018

In Standing Up to Goliath: Battling State and National Teachers’ Unions for the Heart and Soul of Our Kids and Country, teacher, wife, mother, devout Christian and Supreme Court plaintiff Rebecca Friedrichs (David) has written an informative, enjoyable and, at times, infuriating book in which she weaves revelations about her humble roots, marriages, problems with...

TAGS: Antonin Scalia, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Rebecca Friedrichs, teachers union

The other (left) shoe has dropped

By Larry Sand

07/24/2018

The choice between unions becoming more ecumenical or more radical has been made. In the run-up to the Janus decision, some thought a victory for the plaintiff would lead to the teachers unions becoming more politically balanced by embracing at least some conservative candidates and causes as a way to ensure the uninterrupted flow of...

TAGS: American Federation of Teachers, Bernie Sanders, California Teachers Association, Chicago Teachers Union, Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton, Janus v. AFSCME, Jesse Sharkey, Larry Sand, National Education Association, socialism, teachers union

The unions keep rigging the rules as workers sue them

By Larry Sand

07/17/2018

Legislation and litigation ramp up in light of the Janus decision. The public employee unions have not been at all contrite since their 41 year run of legalized theft came to an abrupt halt. On June 27th, the Supreme Court overturned 1977’s abysmal Abood v. Detroit Board of Education decision and ruled...

TAGS: AB 119, California Policy Center, California Teachers Association, Edward Ring, Freedom Foundation, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Mackinac Center, National Right to Work Legal Defense Foundation, teachers union

No dues without political representation

By Larry Sand

07/10/2018

Dissident educators have the power to change the course of teacher union politics in California. A few years back I was on a panel with then California Teachers Association President Dean Vogel, who mentioned during his talk that about 35 percent of his union’s membership was Republican which is roughly the way the rest of...

TAGS: California Teachers Association, Daniel DiSalvo, Dean Vogel, Eric Heins, Gavin Newsom, Janus v. AFSCME, Larry Sand, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, political spending, teachers union, union dues

The Janus victory and ongoing whine festival

By Larry Sand

07/03/2018

The Abood decision has been overturned and its mourners are beside themselves. The hysterical reaction to the recent Supreme Court decision in the Janus v. AFSCME case, which frees public employees in 22 states from having to pay any money to a union as a condition of employment, has Chicken Little nodding in solidarity. As...

TAGS: AFSCME, Alex Caputo-Pearl, American Federation of Teachers, California Teachers Association, Chicago Teachers Union, Janus v. AFSCME, Jesse Sharkey, Larry Sand, LAUSD, Mike Antonucci, National Education Association, Randi Weingarten, seiu, stare decisis, teachers union, United Teachers of Los Angeles

The Potential Fiscal Effects of Education Savings Accounts in California

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